Scar (The Lion King: Revisited)
Scar was an adult male lion who succeeds Mufasa as the king of Pride Rock. Scar has a hand-chosen heir named Kovu, who is the youngest son of Zira. In his youth, Scar was tasked with leading the Lion Guard, a legendary group of protectors who defended the Circle of Life, and gifted with a powerful roar called the Roar of the Elders. Over time, his power and position led him to believe that he should be king instead of his older brother Mufasa and he tried to stage a coup with the rest of his Lion Guard. When the other members of the Lion Guard refused, Scar destroyed them with the power of the Roar, which cost him its use, for it could only be used for good. In the years that followed the Lion Guard's downfall, Scar continued to vie for his brother's throne. After the birth of his nephew Simba, Scar made plans to dispose of both Mufasa and Simba. With the help of his hyena minions, Scar staged a wildebeest stampede that endangered Simba's life, and Mufasa was drawn to the scene to rescue his son. Though Simba escaped to safety, Mufasa was heaved from a high cliff by Scar to his death. After Mufasa's fall, Scar convinced Simba that the death was his fault and drove the cub into self-exile, after which he laid claim to the throne of the Pride Lands. As king, Scar allowed the hyenas to poach the land, and the Pride Lands slowly fell into ruin. The desolation of the kingdom eventually drew a full-grown Simba back to Pride Rock, where he challenged Scar for his throne. An epic battle ensued, in which Scar made one last attempt on Simba's life, but he was defeated and thrown from the summit of Pride Rock by Simba. He landed amidst his former henchmen, who swiftly turned on him and ate him alive amidst a fiery blaze at the base of Pride Rock. Long after Scar's defeat, his spirit was summoned back into the realm of the living by Ushari and Janja. Scar found a new opportunity to overthrow Simba and take over the Pride Lands. He formed an army to face his great-nephew Kion and the Lion Guard, who ruined most of Scar's plans. Eventually, while trying to make Kion follow the same evil path, Scar was ultimately destroyed for good when Kion summoned the Great Kings of the Past, who evaporated Scar's spirit into nothingness. Ultimately, Scar's attempt to corrupt Kion was for naught and Kion recovered for good after reaching the Tree of Life. Scar's legacy lived on through the lioness Zira, his most loyal follower and the leader of the Outsiders. Her son Kovu had been appointed by Scar to be his successor upon his death. Zira spent the following years training Kovu to overthrow Simba. However, Kovu and Scar's grand-niece Kiara fell in love, and Zira ultimately lost her life by refusing to be saved by Kiara. Ironically, Kovu ended up being appointed by Simba as his successor, but Kovu carried on Mufasa's legacy and not Scar's. Personality Even as an adolescent, Scar proves himself to be highly intelligent and manipulative, motivated by jealousy, though at this age it hasn't reached it's murderous heights yet. While leading his Lion Guard back when he protected the Pride Lands, Scar proves to be a fair and attentive defender, who although somewhat jealous of his older brother, reluctantly respects his position as King. However, upon meeting the strange lion whose attack changes Scar's life forever, coupled with the venom of the strange cobra who gives him his scar, Scar descends into a selfish and traitorous tyrant when he gets no praise by his brother. His ties to family only go so far when his own goals are in mind, and he sees no problem in endangering his brother's life in order to get the attention he so desires. The ends never justify the means for young Scar, who fails to see the importance in helping others. Despite his avid lust to be the favored son and the king of the Pride Lands, he is lazy and takes little interest in his subjects, willing to bend the rules and put his own interests above those of his subjects. In adulthood, Scar remains much the same, though his sense of plotting has taken a deadly turn. Still jealous and bogged down by feelings of inferiority, Scar is extremely temperamental, psychopathic, and antisocial, and even less reliant on his family, willing to frame and murder the only family members he has left in order to steal the throne. Even when he is above Mufasa, having murdered and stolen the throne from him, he remains sensitive to his brother's mention, knowing full well that he can never be the king that Mufasa was. His brother's mention is one of the only subjects that can flare his temper, causing him to strike Sarabi and nearly devour Zazu. This reveals that Scar suffers from a lack of self-esteem, perhaps one of the main motivations behind his stealing of the throne. Even in a position of power, he remains vulnerable to bouts of indecision and insecurity, unable to accept criticism and too stubborn to take the advice of his advisers. Despite his inner insecurities, Scar is a natural orator with charismatic charm, able to rally the hyenas to his cause and gain the fanatical loyalty of Zira and her pride of lionesses, even in death. His smooth talking is not easily overlooked, but when his walls are broken down, Scar is revealed to be a coward who would much more likely run from a conflict than turn to face it. When forced into a fight, he can hold his own and is not above cheating, as he lied to Simba and threw hot embers into his face in order to win. His natural charisma hides a cowardly nature that refuses to accept blame and takes no shame in shoving problems and troubles on other individuals. History Scar was the brother of Mufasa, the king of the Pride Lands. As the second-born cub of the monarch, Scar was tasked with leading the Lion Guard when he was younger and was given a power called the Roar of the Elders, which, when used, would cause the Great Kings of the Past to roar with him against the forces of evil. Over time, Scar became the fiercest member of his Lion Guard and used to mostly patrol on his own. However, despite obeying his duties, Scar secretly desired to be king, thinking that he was better than Mufasa. While leader of the Lion Guard, Scar met the lioness Zira, with whom he formed a close friendship. He taught her everything about the Roar, which led Zira to greatly admire him and believe that he should be king. One day, while patrolling the Outlands alone, an adolescent Scar met a strange lion, who convinced him that he should be king instead of Mufasa. The stranger convinced Scar to team up with him to take over the Pride Lands with the Roar of the Elders. Scar found his idea intriguing and followed the lion to a volcano. However, once there, the lion ambushed Scar with a strange cobra, who gave him a scar over his left eye. Fuming in pain due to the venomous bite, Scar was offered the cure to the venom by the lion in exchange for following his orders, but in a fit of rage, Scar used the Roar of the Elders instead to blast the lion and the snake toward the volcano. After informing Mufasa about foiling the strange lion's attempted takeover, Scar expected to be praised by his brother. Instead, Mufasa patted his head and nicknamed him "Scar" due to his injury. Furious, Scar decided to do whatever he needed to overthrow his brother and claim the title of king for himself. Getting the power to his head, Scar held a meeting with his Lion Guard near a rock on the Outlands and requested them to aid him in usurping Mufasa. His Lion Guard refused, and as a result, Scar blasted them away to their deaths, but in doing so, he lost his power forever, as the Roar of the Elders was not meant to be used for evil. Scar makes his first appearance directly after the presentation of his nephew Simba, trapping an unsuspecting field mouse underneath his paw and lifting it slowly to eye level. He laments aloud how life isn't fair, as he will never be king. To make himself feel better, he tells the mouse that it will never see the light of another day, chuckles evilly, and then bids it adieu, lowering it slowly into his jaws. Just before the mouse enters his mouth, Zazu interrupts, asking sarcastically if his mother ever taught him not to play with his food. Scar responds with annoyance and tries to devour the bird after he points out that Mufasa won't be pleased with Scar's absence at Simba's ceremony. Just as he traps Zazu in his jaws, Scar is stopped by Mufasa, who commands Scar to release Zazu. Begrudgingly, Scar does, leaving the hornbill drenched in saliva. He approaches Mufasa, carelessly invading the king's personal space as he mocks his brother, but Mufasa moves on to more pressing matters, accusing Scar of skipping the ceremony. Scar reacts again in sardonic surprise voice, pretending to feel "simply awful" for missing the presentation. Zazu points out that Scar should've been first in line at the ceremony, and Scar snaps his teeth at the bird, pointing out that before Simba was born, he had been first in line. Insulted, Mufasa meets his brother's eyes, clearly stating that the Simba is his son and the future king. Scar manages a sarcastic promise to practice his curtsy, turning his back and walking away from his brother. He veils a threat when Mufasa addresses him again, riling up the larger lion, who demands to know if he's been challenged. Scar reassures Mufasa that he wouldn't dare challenge the king, as he doesn't have the brawn to do it. He then navigates around Mufasa and Zazu, and strides off into the savannah. Many seasons later, with Simba now a lively cub, Scar is visited by his nephew, who is excited about being given his first tour of the Pride Lands. Scar reacts with seething anger and annoyance as Simba gleefully points out he will be king one day. Not noticing his uncle's scowl, he asks Scar what he will be once he is king, to which Scar replies, "A monkey's uncle." Simba laughs, calling his uncle weird, and Scar moves on in the conversation, taking interest in the cub's previous statement about being shown the whole kingdom. Scar guesses aloud that Mufasa hadn't show Simba what's beyond the northern border, and Simba instantly saddens, explaining that he has been forbidden to go there. Scar immediately affirms Mufasa's decision and purposefully lets it slip that the forbidden land is an elephant graveyard. In reaction to Simba's amazement, Scar claims that Simba would've found out eventually. He then makes Simba promise to stay away from the graveyard and pushes the cub off with a paw, knowing that the young lion's curiosity will eventually draw him there. Scar's plan to kill Simba is foiled by Mufasa when the lion comes to the cub's rescue and fights the hyenas off. From atop a knoll, Scar watches in seething anger as Simba and his friend Nala are led out of danger by their savior Mufasa. For this, he scolds the hyenas, debating whether to provide them with food or not, as he'd "practically gift-wrapped the cubs for them." Still angry, he drops a zebra haunch to his minions, who devour the meat amid protests that they couldn't have killed the cubs with Mufasa in their defense. Banzai points out that the only thing they could do is kill Mufasa, a statement which makes Scar smile and launch into "Be Prepared." During the song, Scar plots to kill Mufasa and Simba and claim the throne with the help of the hyenas, who agree to his plan. The following day, Scar lures Simba to the gorge and instructs him to wait on a rock for a "marvelous surprise" which Mufasa has planned. Simba is extremely curious, opting to go with Scar, but the lion abruptly refuses his request. He brings up the incident with the hyenas, making Simba a little more compliant about staying on the rock, and suggests that while he is there, he work on his roar. Scar begins to move off when Simba addresses him again, asking if he will like the surprise. The evil lion smirks, telling Simba that the surprise is "to die for." From atop the gorge's walls, he gives the signal to the hyenas, and they start up a thunderous stampede, comprised of hundreds of startled wildebeests. Scar finds Mufasa and in a staged panic, tells him about Simba being trapped in the wildebeest stampede. Both lions run to the gorge, spotting Simba clinging desperately to a weak branch. Mufasa jumps into the sea of hooves, and Scar drops his act of panic, swatting Zazu into the wall of the gorge, rendering him unconscious. The dark lion slithers across the ridges of the gorge, never taking his eyes off Mufasa's position. After rescuing Simba, the king leaps onto the gorge's walls, clinging to the side of the cliff, but Scar meets him at the top. After taking time to drink in Mufasa's helpless form, Scar slams his claws into his brother's paws and reveals his treachery by mockingly whispering, "Long live the king," before he throws Mufasa to his death. The newly labeled murderer meets Simba at the bottom of the gorge, and upon seeing the cub curled up underneath Mufasa's broken body, he manipulates Simba into believing that Mufasa's death was his fault, because"the roar that Simba worked on caused the stampede." He then instructs Simba to run away and never return, setting the hyenas on him as the cub disappears down the gorge. When Scar returns to the pride, he delivers the news of Mufasa and Simba's deaths, feigning grief. After this, he introduces the hyenas to the pride and ascends Pride Rock to truly assume the crown. Following the start of his reign, he allows the hyenas to over-hunt the Pride Lands and deplete the land of its plentiful resources. Slowly, the Pride Lands fall into decay, with Scar remaining in his cave with not a care in the world about the famine. Meanwhile, the lionesses continue to grieve for their lost king and prince. As meals begin to become more skimpy, Scar traps Zazu in a bone cage and forces the hornbill to sing to him as he lazes on his throne. When Zazu accidentally slips Mufasa's name, Scar reacts with rage, demanding Zazu never mention his brother's name in his presence. Shortly after this, the hyenas come before Scar, complaining. Even Scar's minions, who are used to going hungry for days, start to complain to Scar about the larder being bare. Scar, however, continues to pick his teeth with the bones of his previous meal, telling them to leave his cave when Banzai angers him by mentioning Mufasa's name as well. Shortly after this, Scar calls Sarabi to him, asking her why the hunting party refuses to do its job, not accepting Sarabi's excuse that the herds have moved on. Scar merely passes their unsuccessful hunts off as the lionesses not looking hard enough. When Sarabi suggests they leave Pride Rock, Scar makes it clear that he isn't moving the pride anywhere. The former queen angrily points out that his decision will end in the deaths of them all. Scar turns his back on her, telling her that he's fine with this and that he is the king, so he can do whatever he wants. When she insinuates that he isn't half the king Mufasa was, he strikes her, causing a full-grown Simba, who was observing the entire scene in secret, to spring from hiding in his mother's defense. Scar at first mistakes him for Mufasa, but when it's made clear that it is Simba, he glares at the hyenas and cowers away as his nephew begins to back him into a corner. Scar makes it clear that he isn't resigning and points to the many hyenas above him, reminding Simba that they think he is the king. However, Nala and the lionesses reject him, and Simba threatens to fight if his uncle doesn't step down. Scar slinks around Simba, hinting at Mufasa's death. The prince then tells Scar that his trick won't work, but the lionesses are curious as to what Scar is talking about. Pleasantly surprised, the king forces Simba to admit his responsibility for Mufasa's death and proceeds to back Simba over the edge of Pride Rock's peak. As Simba slips off the peak, using his forepaws to desperately cling for his life, Scar suddenly remembers Mufasa in a similar situation years ago. Slamming his claws into Simba's paws, Scar leans in and whispers to Simba that he is responsible for Mufasa's death. Enraged, Simba hurls himself over the cliff and pins Scar down, a paw pressing down on his throat. Scar tries to weasel his way out of the situation, but his nephew's choking forces him to admit what really happened all those years ago. The hyenas then attack Simba, prompting the lionesses to rush in to fight off the hyenas, during which Scar slinks away. Simba spots him, however, and gives chase. Trapped at Pride Rock's summit, Scar begs Simba for mercy and even tries to pin the blame on the hyenas, unaware that they are listening nearby, but Simba refuses to believe him. He then asks Simba about his intentions, relieved when his nephew decides not to kill him making it clear that Simba wasn't going to resort to killing a member of his own family like Scar had done. He is soon horrified when Simba gives him his own advice: to run away and never return. Scar seemingly begins to cooperate, but then throws embers into Simba's eyes and attacks him while he is blinded. The two lions engage in a brutal fight, and at first they seem to be evenly matched, but Scar eventually knocks Simba onto his back. However, as Scar leaps to deliver the final blow, Simba uses his hind legs to flip Scar over the edge and send him tumbling down the cliff to the base of Pride Rock. Scar survives the fall, and as he struggles to his feet, the hyenas arrive. Scar greets them in a pleasing manner, but to his horror, they reveal they overheard Scar blaming his crimes on them, and they begin to surround their treacherous fallen master with wide grins. Realizing that he is in danger, Scar begs for mercy and attempts to explain himself, but the hyenas have had enough of his treachery and broken promises. In their hunger and vengeance, the hyenas surround Scar and close in, leaping upon him and mauling him to death as flames rise around them. When Kion learns that he has the Roar of the Elders, Rafiki takes him to the Lair of the Lion Guard, where he tells Kion that Scar once led the Lion Guard. Thinking himself better than Mufasa, Scar attempted to overthrow the monarchy, but his team refused to help him, and so he destroyed them with the power of the Roar. Seeing Scar's abuse of power, the Great Kings of the Past took it from him forever, and he was left deprived of his former glory. When Rafiki learns that Kion has encountered the Outsiders, he relates the story of Scar and Zira to the rest of the Lion Guard. He explains that Simba had banished the Outsiders to the Outlands after they had retained loyalties to Scar. Zira had insisted that her son Kovu be king since he was Scar's chosen heir, but Simba had asserted that Scar was not the true king. The two had engaged in a battle and Simba had banished Zira and her followers to the Outlands after a crushing defeat. Rafiki warns the Lion Guard that there will be trouble if Zira finds out that Kion is Simba's son and the team takes off to save their friend. Later, Zira tells Kion that he cannot use the Roar of the Elders against lions, or else he will lose it, as Scar did. She then blames Simba for Scar's fall from the throne of the Pride Lands, and Kion yells that Scar was never the real king. Furious, Zira orders an attack on Kion. However, just before the Outsiders can hurt him, Zira offers to forgive him if he will join her, and leaves him in the care of her pride while she goes to fetch her cubs. During the final fight between the Outsiders and the Lion Guard, Bunga urges Kion to use his Roar, but Kion worries that he will lose the Roar as Scar did for using it against other lions. Despite Kion's fears, Bunga insists that Scar did not lose his Roar because he used it against other lions, but because he used it for evil. Kion then uses the Roar successfully and blows away all the Outsiders. When Ushari the snake learns that Kion can communicate with the Great Kings of the Past, he decides to find a way to contact Scar. He enlists the help of Janja's clan, and together, they spy on the Lion Guard and Rafiki, learning that ancient evil lions can be communicated with using the power of the bakora staff and the Roar of the Elders. Ushari and Janja decide to use what they have learned to summon Scar. They decide to get the bakora staff of Rafiki's apprentice Makini since she is too inexperienced to be a threat and to attack one of Kion's loved ones and bring them there, since Kion's Roars are at their most powerful when he's angry. The hyenas kidnap Kion's sister, Kiara, and take Makini's bakora staff. While the rest of the Guard rescues her, Janja tricks Kion by getting him to use the Roar out of anger, causing the volcano to erupt. When Janja throws Makini's staff into the volcano, Scar is successfully summoned, giving the Lion Guard's enemies their own spirit guide. Scar plots with his army in the Outlands to defeat both Simba and the Lion Guard. He explains to his followers that he will be using Sumu the scorpion to take down Simba. He then relishes the irony of taking the day of the Kumbuka celebration and making it into the day that he defeated Simba and the Lion Guard. At Pride Rock, the Pride Landers sing "Good King Simba" in honor of the Kumbuka celebration. However, in the midst of the festivities, Sumu stings Simba's tail and then banks a hasty retreat as Simba collapses to the ground. Back in the Outlands, Scar gets word of Sumu's success and directs his army to intercept the oncoming Lion Guard. The plan works, with Kiburi, Reirei, Janja, and their respective clans slowing down the Lion Guard's progress through the Outlands. At last, the Lion Guard reaches the inner volcano, where Makini places a pinch of the cure, volcano ash, in her gourd. As the team turns to leave, Scar arises from the flames and reveals himself to Kion, admitting his part in the plan to kill Simba. Despite Scar's admission, Kion directs his team to leave, as he is worried about arriving too late to save his father. Scar then calls his army forward, and they corner the Lion Guard at the edge of the lava. With no option left, Kion steps forward to use the Roar of the Elders. Scar tries to warn Kion that his roar will only cause the volcano to erupt, but Kion informs Scar he knows more about the roar than Scar ever did. He then uses the roar carefully to blow away Scar's army, and the Lion Guard makes a quick escape. Scar sends Mzingo and his parliament after the Lion Guard, and the vultures nearly wrestle the gourd from Makini. However, the rest of the team arrives just in time to fend off the vultures, and Kion uses his roar to ensure that they are not delayed again. At the same moment, Scar overlooks his defeated army and comments that the war has only just begun. Unbeknownst to the Pride Landers, Scar decides to attack Makuu's watering hole since the crocodiles' alliance with Kion is fraying. The Army of Scar besieges Makuu's float. Ono witnesses the battle and reports his findings to Kion. Together, the Lion Guard and their Pride Lander allies storm the watering hole and fight off the Army of Scar. At Mizimu Grove, Rafiki and Simba announce Makini's mpando mpaya, and Timon and Pumbaa perform their song ("Tujiinue"). In the midst of the celebration, the Army of Scar attacks, and the Pride Landers rise up to defend themselves. The battle pauses when Scar appears in the flames and threatens to overtake the entirety of the Pride Lands. Frightened by Scar's unexpected appearance, the remaining Pride Landers flee Mizimu Grove. After months of conflict, a sustained Scar in recovering from his massive injuries inflicted during the battle of Pride Rock learned of the Lion Guard's plan to lead a massive assault on his volcano. With this in mind, Scar tricked Janja into carrying news to Kion that using the Roar of the Elders inside the volcano would destroy him. He then sent Janja's clan to attack the Lion Guard in the Lair, while having his other minions set fire to the grasses around Pride Rock. After his enemies escaped the flames, Scar appeared and warned them to leave the Pride Lands, taunting Simba with the knowledge that he had no means of defeating him. He then begins summoning the Evil Eternal Lions and his Justice Order. As Scar later explained to Ushari, Kion's use of the Roar inside the volcano would actually trigger a cataclysmic eruption that would destroy the Pride Lands. He then shared his history with Ushari, revealing that a strange lion and strange cobra had given him his scar ("When I Led the Guard"). In the hopes of tricking Kion into following the same destructive path, Scar ordered Ushari to give Kion a scar of his own. During the Battle of Kenya, his plan succeeded, and Scar mocked his great-nephew by saying "Sisi ni sawa" numerous times. He then drained the life forms out of Kion, proceeding to rejuvenate himself in the process, as well as killing his own great-nephew. Now in his younger body before Simba defeated him, Scar unleashed his biggest roar to cause the volcano erupting and sending all the Pride Landers and the Outsiders flying towards the border. However, rather than resorting to anger like his great-uncle had expected, Kion is resuscitated by the Great Kings of the Past, and forgives Scar to judge him for his actions. The Kings then unleashed rain upon Scar, starting to evaporate him. He and Kion engage in a brutal showdown, and at first they seem to be evenly matched, but Scar eventually knocks Kion onto his back. Using the Roar of the Elders to finish off his great-nephew, Scar is suddenly horrified by Kion's actions, as he uses his Roar to deflect back at his great-uncle, disintegrating his skin off his skeleton. Before his body exploded into nothingness, Scar warned Kion that he would eventually see the Roar as a curse. Behind the scenes * Scar is voiced by Jeremy Irons. David Oyelowo served as Irons' voice double. Category:WindowsMyers2018 Category:Characters Category:Original Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Lions Category:Pride Landers Category:Outsiders Category:Leaders Category:Deceased Category:Army of Scar Members Category:Uncles Category:The Lion King: Revisited